BOONE, N.C. (AP) _ Corey Hall intercepted his second pass of the game to secure a 17-16 upset win for Appalachian State over Georgia Southern on Saturday.

Appalachian State (4-2, 3-1 Southern Conference) rolled to a 17-0 lead with 4:28 remaining in the third quarter on a pair of fumble recoveries. On the first, Weslan Hunter returned a fumble 43 yards for a touchdown. Nine minutes later, Luke Manuel recovered a fumble in the end zone to give the Mountaineers a comfortable lead.

But Georgia Southern, the top-ranked team in Division I-AA, closed to 17-16 on a pair of touchdown runs by quarterback Greg Hill.

Georgia Southern (5-2, 4-1) cut the margin to two points with 5:41 left in the game on a safety. But the Mountaineers were able to hold off two late scoring attempts, the last ending on Hall's interception.

Hall set up the game's first score, a 23-yard field goal by Stuart Jones, with his first interception late in the first half.

The No. 11 Mountaineers were able to win despite giving up 401 total yards to the Eagles. Appalachain State, though, forced five turnovers, while giving up none.

Georgia Southern's Adrian Peterson had 148 yards rushing, while Hill had 103 yards on the ground and 134 through the air.

Appalachian State's Karim Razzak had a career-high 137 yards on 23 carries.